Malika Hachid

Malika Hachid (; born March 1954) is an Algerian archaeologist and prehistorian, who is notable for her research on cave art in Algeria and her work on the prehistory of the Berbers. She was Director of the National Centre for Prehistoric, Anthropological and Historical Research (CNRPAH).

Biography Hachid was born in Algiers in March 1954. In 1974, she moved to Aix-en-Provence in order to study prehistoric archaeology. In 1998, Hachid was able to confirm that a number of the artworks which Lhote had based his controversial interpretations of the site on were fakes, which had been created by French members of his own team. After the publication of her book on the site, further forgeries were revealed to Hachid by members of the team. Hachid has identified some of the figures as being of both Mediterranean and black African origin. In her work on the proto-history of the Berbers, Hachid has argued that it two civilizations, the Capsian and Mechtoid, combined to form the first Berbers 10–11,000 years ago. She believes that Berber identity formed in North Africa.

Publications

El-Hadjra el-Mektouba. Les pierres écrites de l'Atlas saharien (1992). Le Tassili des Ajjer. Aux sources de l'Afrique 50 siècles avant les pyramides (1998). Les Premiers Berbères entre Méditerranée, Tassili et Nil, ed. Edisud (2001).